craig



@time 'tutte stmt @ffice S. J. BRIDGE AND A. Mr. CRAIG, OF PQETAGE CITY, WISCONSIN.

Leim Pittem N.- 02,929, am Merci. 19, v1867.

IMPROVEMENT IN WATEBWHEEIJS.

@the Stlpmlc ruimt in in tlgsse teijter ntent imu mating gaat at tige simu.

TO ALL WI-IOM IT MAY CONCERN:

:Be it known thnt'we, S. J. BRIDGE, and A. M. CRAIG, of Portage City, in the county ol`Colun1bia,-and State of Wisconsin, have invented certain new. and useful improvements in Water-Wheels, and we do hereby declare that the following isa full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making part of this specification, andto the letters of reference marked thereon, like letters indicating. like parts wherever they'occur. i I

To enable others skilled in the art to construct and use our invention, we will proceed to describe it.

Our invention Consists in constructing a wheel, with a series of deiiect'i'ngY guides on its upper surface, and having a series of spiral buckets arranged atits periphery, with an air chamber in its centra-l portion underneath.

Figure l is a top plan view ofthe wheel and case, with the top ofthe latter removed.y

Figure 2 is a transverse vertical section to turn on the line :t x of fig. l.

In making our wheel, we provide a circular plate or disk H, witirnI centra-l hub, B, and attach it to the shaft C, as ,shown in figs. l and 2. To the outer edge of this plate H issecured a ver-tical ange Gr, projecting downward at a right angle, as shown in tig. 2 and outside of this is placed, at some distance, another similar riin or flange, D, which 'forms the outer edge of the wheel. The space between these two vertical rims G and D is occupied by a series of buckets b, which consist of a metal plate bent in a spiral form, ,so as to 'form a gradually descending curve from the top to the bottom of the rims, in the direction indicated by the red arrows in fig. 1. v.Upon the upper surface of the plate H is arranged a series of guides or strips, a, as shown in fig. 1, the inner portion of' said guides being arranged tangentially around the h'ub B, as far out as the rim G, from whence they extend radially to thei'outer rim D, this outer portion of the guide-strips@ forming the division between the buckets, there being as many of the guide-strips as there are of the buckets. By` this method of constructing the wheel, it will be observed that there is formed in the central portion oi the wheel, under the pla-te H, an air chamber or-space E, as shown clearly in g. l, and when the wheel is properly set, with its upper surface nearly le'vel with the water in the pit entail-race, it will be seen that the air in this chamber will render the wheel somewhat buoyant, and thus tend to counteract the downward pressure of the water above. The wheel is placed in a scroll-case with its upper surface nearly even with the bottom of the case, as shown in fig. 2. The water entering the mouth of the scroll, impinges against the guides a, directly, thereby imparting more or less motion to the wheel. At the same time, the inclined position of the guides deilects the water to the outer portion of the wheel, where it passes down between the buckets b, reacting on them, and escaping at the bottom in a direction the reverse of that at which it entered. By these means we' are enabled to produce a very cheap and simple wheel, and one in which the power or force of the water is utilized in a very efficient manner. It is obvious that the wheel may be constructed entirely of woodor of metal, 0r olf'beth combined, as may be found most convenient.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim is- A water-wheel having the spiral buckets b, and the tangential guides a, combined and arranged substantially asiV shown and described.` u

' s. J.. BRIDGE,

ALLEN M. CRAIG.

Witnesses: y

W. C.- DO DGE, II. B. MUNN. 

